Swimming appliance



June 5, 1951 H L OMBE 2,555,969

' SWIMMING APPLIANCE Filed May v 19, 1950 z? 5 /i /9 A2 I w I 7 6 Inventr 7 i9'-.-3- 222.2511 Hal-0011556 Attorney Patented June 5, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.

This invention relates to a device for use by swimmers and more particularly to a member adapted to be attached to the palm of the hand which extends beyond the out stretched thumb and fingers to act as a web between the fingers and between the index finger and thumb whereby a much greater thrust may be exerted with the hand against the water while swimming for propelling the swimmer more rapidly through the water and with less efiort.

More particularly, it is an aim of the present invention to provide a non-porous hand engaging member which is preferably of flexible construction to enable the outer part of said member to fold back away from the fingers and against the palm of the hand while the hand is being displaced forwardly through the water to prevent the member obstructing the forward movement of the hand, and which member will thereafter be returned to an extended position against the out stretched fingers and thumb by the pressure of the water as the hand is drawn back or in the opposite direction on the swimming power stroke.

Another and, particularly important object of the present invention is to provide a swimming appliance of extremely simple construction having a novel means for attaching the device to the hand and which will enable the device to be equally well attached against the palm of either the right or left hand and with all the parts thereof in the same position with respect to the thumb and fingers, so that two of said appliances which are exact duplicates may be used, one for the right hand and the other for the left hand.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide a lacing means for securing the swimming appliance to the hand and which will assist in reinforcing the portion of the appliance extending between the thumb and index finger.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the drawing, illustrating one preferred embodiment thereof, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the appliance shown attached to the left hand;

Figiire 2 is a sectional view thereof taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 2-2 of Figure l, and

Figure 3 is an end view in elevation looking from the bottom toward the top of the device, as illustrated in Figure 1.

Referring more specifically to the drawing,

2 the swimming appliance in its entirety is designated generally 5 and includes a sheet of flex ible material 6 such as rubber or which may be formed of canvas or any other flexible ma-' terial which is relatively impervious to water. The sheet 5 has a wide end I having a con vexly rounded edge 8, and a restricted end 9. The sheet 6 also includes an intermediate portion In having side edges H and I2 which converge from the ends of the rounded edge 8 toward the end portion 9 and which edges H and I2 merge with the ends of a straight transverse edge i3 defining the end of the portion 9.

The end portion 9 is provided with two eyelets or openings I l and i5 which are spaced from the edge 13, the opening I 4' being located adjacent the edge II and the opening l5 being located adjacent the edge 12. An eyelet or opening I6 is provided in the intermediate portion Ill adjacent the edge It and two spaced eyelets or openings 11 and IB are provided inthe intermediate portion l0 nearer to the edge I2 than to the edge I! and which openings I! and I 8 are disposed relatively close to one another. An eyelet or opening I9 is provided in the intermediate portion It] in closer proximity to the edge l2, said opening [9 being disposed closer to the opening l8 than to the opening I! and said opening I! being disposed closer to the eyelet or opening l5 than the opening It.

The strip 6 is of a size so that the: palm of the hand may be placed against either side of the intermediate portion Hi thereof and with the out stretched extended fingers extending toward the rounded edge 8 and resting against the end portion 1 and the out stretched thumb extending toward the point where the edges 8 and I2 join. When thus disposed, a part of the wrist will rest upon the end portion 9 and will be ible sheet 6, a lace or strand 2| of a flexible material is engaged through the eyelets or openings, as illustrated in Figure 1, for detachably fastening the sheet 6 to the palm and wrist of the hand. An intermediate portion of the lace 2| extends across the back of the hand as seen at 22. One end of the lace then extends through the eyelet I6 and along the opposite side of the sheet 6 as seen in dotted lines at 213 toward the eyelet I 4. Said end 23 then extends back through the eyelet I4. The other end 24 extends from the opposite end of the intermediate portion 22 through the eyelet l1, thence along the opposite side of the sheet 6, as illustrated in dotted lines and back through the eyelet l8 and across the thumb. Said end 24 then extends through the eyelet l9 and along the opposite side of the sheet 6, as seen in dotted lines in Figure 1 toward the eyelet l5. The end 24 then extends back through the eyelet l and the terminal portions of the ends 23 and 24 are knotted as seen at 25 or tied in a bow at the back of the wrist. It will thus be seen that the wrist, palm and thumb are secured to the portions 9 and ill of the flexible sheet 6. It will likewise be readily apparent that by inverting the sheet 6 and reversing the lace 2| the right hand, not shown, instead of the left hand A could be Simi larly secured to the opposite side of said sheet 6 by the lace 2| and in the same manner as previously described, so that two corresponding appliances 5 may be used for attachment to the right and left hand with either appliance 5 being attached to either hand. 7

With the appliance 5 attached to the hand A as illustrated in Figure 1, it will be readily apparent that when the hand is drawn rearwardly of the body on the power stroke while swimming, the resistance of the water and the pressure afforded by the water against the hand will cause the strip 6 to remain in substantially the position of Figure 1 covering the out stretched fingers and thumb so as to form in effect a webbing therebetween to thereby afford a much greater resistance to the water than the hand would otherwise afford thus enabling a person to swim much faster with the same amount of effort. On the return or forward stroke of the hand, the end portion 1 of the flexible sheet 6 will fold back against the palm of the hand at a point substantially in transverse alignment with the eyelets I6, I! and I8 to minimize the resistance that the swimming appliance 5 will offer while the hand is being moved forwardly of the body on the return stroke and preparatory to the execution of another rear or power stroke. However, upon commencement of the next rear or power stroke, the folded back end portion 1 will return to its extended position of Figure 1. The lace portion 24 extending between the eyelets I1 and I8 tends to reinforce this portion of the sheet 6. Other reinforcing of the sheet 6 will ordinarily not be necessary, especially if said sheet is formed of rubber but if formed of fabric such as canvas or a lighter weight material, additional reinforcing means may be provided for reinforcing the end portion 1 to prevent collapsing thereof between the out stretched, spread fingers.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated and may obviously be resorted to, without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as hereinafter defined by the appended claim.

I claim as my invention:

A swimming appliance adapted to be attached to the hand for increasing the propelling power of a swimmer, comprising a sheet of flexible material substantially impervious to water having a plurality of spaced openings therein, said sheet being adapted to have the palm, outstretched fingers, thumb and wrist of a hand disposed against one side thereof and with certain portions of the hand disposed between certain of the openings forming pairs of openings, a lace extending through each of said openings 'and having portions disposed to extend along opposite sides of said sheet, the lace portion disposedon one side of said sheet extending across the'back' hand when held attached to the hand by the lace. a

ELTON HOLCOMBE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the:

file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 894,311 Brenton July 28, 1908 1,395,914 Grundmann Nov. 1, 1921.

' FOREIGN PATENTS Number I Country ,Date

Australia Q. Oct. 15, 19311 

